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I just got a 2018 Compass Limited with the 18" wheels. I'm looking at snow tires and rims, and I'm thinking of downsizing to 16" or 17". Does anyone know what an acceptable downsize is, and what type of cheap, steel rims I should use? I am going to pass on the TPMS sensors as it greatly increases the cost, and it looks like there is a procedure for deactivating the warning light with winter tires written in the owner's manual.

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A key rule of thumb is that even sizes are always cheaper and have more options, so that being the case, 16 is the way to go. However you can find good deals on 17's if you look hard enough especially if you don't mind buying used.

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I did a quick search 215-65/17 winter tires and steal rims from $650 to $750 If time allows I would wait until black Friday as the there will be many sales.
TireRack Discount Tire Direct as well as other local shops. depending on your location.
I installed winter snows (Winterforce2) 215-65R-17 on my factory rims and they have worked out great in what little bit of foul weather we have had. But this past Saturday I put a couple hundred miles on some pretty slick roads that turned to slush later on. And the Trailhawk and the Winterforce2 tires worked great. Just left it in auto and it went in out of 4 wheel very smooth.

Spending time learning the science of the mechanisms of friction, lubrication, and wear of interacting surfaces that are in relative motion
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery

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Yeah it really doesn't matter how much smaller of a rim you buy as long as they clear the brakes and the shop puts on tires with enough sidewall to get the overall height back up to what its supposed to be, so going with a size that gives you the most options for tires is the best bet.

bastinado said:

it looks like there is a procedure for deactivating the warning light with winter tires written in the owner's manual.

Say WHAT? :surprise: What page number? I have been slowly working my way through the manual finding little nuggets of helpful info, like the holding the traction control button longer to turn it 'more off' but I hadn't seen anything about being able to disable TPMS warning, that would be a game changer for me because I too have been looking at winter tires and rims but the added cost of a second set of TPMS made me not so happy.

EDIT: I found on page 169 a section/feature called "TPMS Deactivation — If Equipped"
It seems there is no procedure or anything, it simply says IF you have this feature then you can put on rims without TPMS sensors and it will only fire a dash warning the first time you drive it on the rims without sensors. After that it won't show any warning or beep on subsequent startups, and once you put your stock rims with sensors back on after one drive the TPMS system should start back up and return to working as normal.

The super super key part of this whole thing is in the title, "TPMS Deactivation — If Equipped"
I got on Jeep customer support chat and asked them if they could tell from my VIN# whether I had this feature. What I got was a fancy way of saying "I don't know, probably not, ask your dealer."

I am suspicious this feature is not actually equipped or available on any Compass sold in the United States. I think our TPMS laws are too strict for it probably, but they have this nice feature for the rest of the world. This is just my guess, I sent an email to Jeep to see if I could get some clarification and also I probably will stop by my dealership at some point and pick their brains.

I am not going to hold my breath though. You should check into this further as well bastinado if you care about whether you have to stare at a blinking light for the first 75 seconds of EVERY drive all winter (after 75 seconds it stays on solid).

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Sorry arudlang, I was talking about that excerpt from page 169. I am in Canada, so I figure that it may be allowed up here. I agree with you - I don't want TPMS sensors on winter rims because it eliminates all cost savings!

I've never minus sized on vehicles in the past... I've done lots of research and found a couple options:225/60R17 and 215/65R16, down from the OEM of 225/55R18. My concern is finding cheap steel rims that will be compatible with the vehicle. I spoke to my dealer and they suggested fancy rims that cost $120 each, when I've found those generic black steel rims for $65/ea. They are X47510 and X46510, I've verified that the bolt pattern matches the OEM bolt pattern of 5x110 and the offset is the same. But the hex might be off by a couple mm. Should I trust the tire shop to ensure that the cheap steel rims are compatible with the car? Or is it safer to just get the more expensive rims suggested by the dealer?

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Ah Canada! Where the government doesn't want to trust you with a gun but you can drive thousands of pounds of metal, glass, and chemicals at high speed and they see no reason to worry about whether you keep enough air in the tires

US regulations on TPMS are bogus though, and I am going to be only the more angry with them when Jeep emails me back and (most likely) tells me "yeah, you can't deactivate TPMS in the USA, cuz laws".

I wouldn't have any issues trusting my tire shop to get the right rims, but its a medium-sized town where people know each other and there is no issue with them accepting liability if they screw up. In your shoes, I'd probably be doing what you are doing now, seeing if you can find the correct specs and then go to the shop and see if they come up with the same thing, then if you both agree on the appropriate specs for the rims chances of them not working are pretty slim.

For $120 each you could get some so-so aluminum rims. Steelies just are not cheap enough for me to accept their ugliness, just a personal preference.

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arudlang - Yeah, I think this is the safest course to ensure that the correct wheels and tires are put on my car. I've read on a couple different sources that X46510 steel rims are compatible with the vehicle. The dealer I spoke with was worried about rotor clearance if the wrong wheels are selected. The tire shop should be able to assess this during a dry-fit of the wheels, correct? I would like to minus size down to 16", however I became concerned after learning that they may not clear the rotors. Is there any information in the Owner's manual or on Jeep's website that indicates the various acceptable tire and wheel sizes? I have yet to find any such information...

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16" should be plenty big to clear the brakes, they are what, 10" rotors, 12" at most, but backspacing also matters obviously need to clear the caliper as well. For sure the tire shop would be able to tell immediately with a test fit if there were any issues.

I am putting RRO lift kit on my 2016 compass and wanted to know if anyone has run a 245-65-17 tire with a +10 offset instead of the factory +40 offset. And what issues they have run into with this setup thanks.

First post on here, and I know there are several threads discussing this. But here’s my question.
I bought a set of cooper stt pro discoverers in 225 75 r16 for my 2018 sport with the black steelies, will I need to get spacers? I know this is the biggest size you can rock without a lift but...

Looking to put some BF Goodies on 16” x 8” pro comps for my 1st Gen Compass. Putting a 2-1/8” Rocky Road Outfitters lift kit on as well. Wondering what the max size tire would be without further modification?